Justin Ho Li Vern

Coming Up

In hospitality, wine and sake work as tools of service, and Justin Ho Li Vern has built a career around that register. His path has moved through classrooms, dining rooms, and tasting counters toward a role that suits his training: helping people identify restaurants or bars in Malaysia with a good wine list. The work sits between technical discipline and guest service, with each side reinforcing the other. The classroom came first at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, where Justin began as a food and beverage lecturer. That role placed him between instruction and the realities of service, with theory tested against the pace of dining. His scope widened at Sommelier Association of Malaysia (SOMLAY), where he served as president from 2016–2017, a position that marked his growing influence in Malaysia’s wine community. His practical formation also ran through Restaurant DC, Topshelf at TTDI, Sushi Hibiki at The Four Seasons Hotel, Cheong Somm at RexKL, and LUT Group in Malaysia, where he worked as both a sommelier and sake sommelier. Each post added another reference point for how wine and sake shape a meal, frame a room, and sharpen a guest’s sense of place. The present-day work spans teaching, consulting, and events. At BERJAYA University College in Kuala Lumpur, Justin is Assistant Professor in the food and beverage division, School of Hospitality, bringing field experience into the classroom. He is also WSET Educator for Levels 1 and 2 at BERJAYA Wine and Spirit Education Centre in Kuala Lumpur, carrying wine education into a structured teaching environment. Beyond academia, he is co-founder of Two restaurant groups, consultant for restaurants and hotels in Malaysia, speaker for wine and sake events in Malaysia, and part-time sommelier for events in Malaysia. The range of those roles points to a career built across different rooms and different audiences, with knowledge shared through service as much as through instruction.

Where They Are Now

Asked about his current moment, Justin responded with the kind of direct anticipation that comes from being ready for a new panel and aware of what it represents.

In Their Words “Most importantly will be becoming the ambassador that helps people find restaurants or bars that provide a good wine list in Malaysia.”

Honors

Justin's honors include Best Sommelier of Asia and Oceania (2018) and Best Sommelier of Malaysia (2015). Those awards sit within a career built on study, service, and accumulation of craft, recognizing not only palate and technique but also the role he has taken on in how wine and sake are taught, read, and served in Malaysia.